God knows our hearts, doesn’t He. He knows we want to do all the things the world says are good. We want to sleep around and look at pornography. We want to get all the money we can and have all the fun we can have with it. We want to put ourselves in relationships that are ripe with jealousy and envy. We want to pit ourselves against each other in fierce rivalries. We want to explore different drugs to see how they make us feel. We want to drink until we pass out. But God knows these things all end up robbing us of the things we need; the things we treasure. So, God gives us a new set of desires. And He makes these so completely opposite to the other list that we end up loving one and hating the other. He gave us this new set of desires to keep us from doing what we naturally want to do. 

That phrase is almost hate speech in today’s world. “No one is going to keep me from doing what I want to do!” That may as well be our national motto. Pride does not have to equal force. Just because we are independent, does not mean we get the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want to do it. When a man comes to Christ, He has the chance to exchange his old life for an entirely new one. When you trade in a car, do you take the seats and the tires off the old one and put them in the new one? No way! “You keep the worn out stuff. I want the new stuff!” It’s the same with our new life in Christ. Why would we hang onto old ideas, desires, plans and dreams when God is offering us an entirely new setup. 

How does this play out in real life? The enemy wants you to keep one or two of your old desires around for fun. I mean, what’s really wrong with a little envy. It’s ok to want what your friends have. NO!. What’s wrong with looking at the ladies once a in a while; appreciating beauty, I believe is what they call it. NO! What’s wrong with letting anger fester in some of the relationships where the guy really deserves a punch in the nose. NO! If you keep one foot in that circle, you will eventually go back to the same old lifestyle. Let me show you what I mean. 

Stop comparing your spouse to everyone else’s. God’s given you a gift in your wife/husband. Enjoy the gift! Cherish each other instead of wishing she looked or acted like someone else. Envy is no good. It will poison your well in a hurry. 

Stop fighting. Some of you have such a fighting attitude, you’ll go to blows (verbally or physically) with anyone who looks at you the wrong way. Stop it! Enmity will eat you from the inside out. It will ultimately destroy the best relationships you have in your life. 

Stop making fun of everyone else to feel better about yourself. Stop digging for dirt on everyone around you so you can hold it over their heads. Stop pushing people around verbally. Division and strife do not lead to a happy life. You may feel like top dog for a while, but when life pushes you down, you won’t have anyone around to pick you up. 

Here’s the kicker. You can’t just start loving folks. It’s not our nature. You can’t just choose patience. We don’t naturally want to wait for anything. You and I aren’t naturally gentle people. But if you are hungry for these things, hungry for a change, then ask Jesus for them. These are His characteristics and He dispenses them freely to those who ask. Let Him pull you out of the pit you’ve dug for yourself and give you a new way to live. Stop doing the things you want to do and start allowing the Lord to produce His character in you. You’ll never be the same.